Best Friends with Benefits
by Cyanide-Ocean
Summary: Chloe's always loved Aubrey, but Aubrey's afraid if something happens to them as a couple, that their relationship should end, she'll lose her best friend as well


Chloe had known Aubrey since their freshman year at Barden, and despite their blatantly obvious differences - Chloe being the more outgoing, vivacious of the two while Aubrey was the poised, calmly collected one - they somehow clicked. Chloe taught Aubrey that sometimes it's okay to let loose and have some fun just as Aubrey taught Chloe that while she can continue having fun, that doesn't mean she can't take things more seriously at the same time.

However, as the years wore on and the two spent practically all their time together, being room mates since their freshman year, Chloe began to develop feelings for her friend that beyond their best friends status. Yet because Aubrey never showed any interest in the redhead as anything more than friends, Chloe felt forced to suppress her feelings, despite how they only intensified the longer she went without telling Aubrey the truth.

Finally, one day after a long rehearsal that consisted of the usual, although brief, griping and groaning from the other Bellas and Aubrey snapping at them and barking orders, Chloe decided she couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Whatever it is will have to wait," Aubrey sighed as she saw her friend approach.

"No, it can't wait," Chloe replied firmly. Her unusually serious tone surprised the blonde as she turned to face her friend and folded her arms.

"Fine, but I don't have much time. What is it?"

"I love you, Aubrey," the redhead declared.

"Aca-scuse me? Do you even know what you're saying right now?"

"I'm not drunk and I know exactly what I'm saying, Aubrey. I've loved you since freshman year, but I never said anything because I was scared you'd stop being my friend - I was afraid I'd lose the one true, close friend I had. But I'm tired of having to hide my feelings all the time, so I'm telling you now," Chloe explained slowly, articulating each word to eliminate the chance for the blonde to claim she'd misheard her. "And I know I've dated other guys since coming here and befriending you, but none of them meant anything - they were there to distract me from thinking of you," she murmured.

The lead Bella remained silent, unsure of how to respond to her friend's confession. She stared back at Chloe's oceanic blue eyes that brimmed with assuredness on the whole matter. There was no questioning that the redhead was absolutely sure about what she was claiming.

"Aubrey, say something," the senior urged her friend, growing uncomfortable by the blonde's hesitance to say anything. She feared that maybe she'd done the wrong thing in telling Aubrey - that maybe she should've kept her mouth shut.

"I... I don't know what to tell you, Chloe," Aubrey gave a weary sigh.

"Do you like me or not?"

"You're my best friend, Chloe. You've stuck by me through my worst moments and my best ones - you're the only person who's done that as well as not laugh at me for being a stress vomiter," Aubrey muttered the last half of her sentence. "But I... I don't know, Chloe. I don't know if I love you as my best friend or as more, and it's something I've been trying to figure out for a long time now. Can we talk about this later when we're back in our dorm room, please?"

"Fine, but don't think I'll forget," Chloe gave a firm nod and walked out of the rehearsal room.

Aubrey sat down in one of the chairs, hunched over. She didn't know what to do about Chloe's confession, and she had done her best to give an honest, sincere reply. Truth be told, the blonde had considered what her life would be like if her friend became her girlfriend; she'd thought about kissing Chloe on more than one occasion - and not just a quick peck on the lips, but a more passionate kiss where the use of tongues were involved. She'd thought about what it'd be like to be the one in the shower with Chloe and not one of her casual boyfriends that she'd had several of over the past three years. She'd imagined what it might be like to touch Chloe's body, feel the redhead's skin against her own, be the reason that Chloe would moan in bed - not some other guy. But she couldn't bring herself to confess these things to her friend, feeling that was going too far. She couldn't help that she was unable to resist Chloe's spunky personality and striking blue eyes that always seemed to be filled with mirth, or the way she moved when she danced - of even walked casually from one place to another - or the sound of her voice when she spoke.

She groaned out of frustration; on one hand she wanted Chloe as her girlfriend so that she didn't have to see her friend with someone else that she probably didn't even care about that much, and instead be with someone who did genuinely care about her. On the other hand, Aubrey fretted that if they did get together as a couple and then broke up, their friendship would also be ruined, and the blonde wasn't sure she was willing to risk that.

The senior knew she couldn't sit there in the rehearsal room forever as Chloe would eventually find and drag her off back to their room to talk at some point. Slowly forcing herself to rise to her feet, Aubrey begrudgingly gathered up her things and took a detour back to her and Chloe's shared dorm room in hopes that while prolonging the time between now and having to face her friend she'd be able to formulate some kind of reply.

Turning the key in the lock, Aubrey pushed open the door and found Chloe lying on her bed, face turned away and presumably with earbuds in her ears as she made no reaction towards Aubrey's entrance. Placing the stack of papers and her bag down onto her desk, she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder as she gingerly perched herself on the edge of the redhead's bed. Just as she had guessed, Chloe had been listening to her iPod as it would explain the delayed reaction to finally noticing the blonde's presence. She jolted upright, yanking the earbuds out and fumbled with her iPod, turning it off.

"Aubrey..! I didn't realize you'd returned," she explained as if her lack of immediate reaction had been erroneous.

"It's fine, I just got here," the blonde flashed her friend a meek smile, instinctively resting her hand on her friend's knee.

"So, uh… About what I said after rehearsal today…" Chloe fidgeted tentatively as she played with the hems of her sleeves between her thumb and index fingers.

"I've been doing more thinking about it, Chloe," Aubrey sighed, retracting her hand from Chloe's knee and placed it on her thigh as she stared down at her lap as she fell into silence.

"And..?" The co-Bellas leader urged.

"I've thought about how things could be if we dated and I admit, such thoughts made me crack a smile. But I'm afraid if we become more than friends, if something should happen causing us to break up, I'd lose my best friend. You know I don't make friends easily, Chloe. In fact, you're the only real friend I have that I can turn to and talk to about anything and know you'll listen to me and do your best to help me. I'm terrified of losing that, Chloe - of losing you," Aubrey murmured, feeling the stress of the situation begin to get to her as she willed herself not to ruin the moment by vomiting.

"Even if we broke up, we'd stay best friends, Aubrey," Chloe did her best to reassure her friend, "We started as best friends and even if we don't last as girlfriends, being best friends doesn't have to stop just because our relationship as more than that did," she promised.

"How can you be so sure that if we dated and then things ended between us that we wouldn't drift apart?"

"Because no matter what, Aubrey, I love you as a best friend and nothing can change that."

The blonde turned to look at her friend, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Hearing the confidence in her friend's voice when she comforted Aubrey always gave the blonde the courage she needed to genuinely believe in what Chloe was saying.

"Please don't cry," Chloe whispered as if using her normal speaking volume would be too harsh. "You know that no matter what happens - even if you turn me down - I'll still always be here for you. It'll hurt a little, but I'll bounce back because I always do," the redhead pulled her friend into a hug.

Aubrey shook her head, worming her way out of the embracing, eliciting a confused and pained look from Chloe. A tear rolled down Aubrey's face; she felt so conflicted, she really did want to try having a relationship with Chloe, but her fear that things would go awry and ultimately turn sour with the end result of losing Chloe as not just a girlfriend but as a best friend as well was too much for the blonde to bear the thought of. Yet as her mind struggled with her inner turmoil, Aubrey found herself placing a hand on Chloe's shoulder and pulled her friend closer until their lips met in a tender kiss.

"Don't leave me," Aubrey's voice was hushed, laced with hesitance and fear, but what shown through it all: love.

"I'm not going anywhere," Chloe swore, hand having found its way to the blonde's thigh sometime during the kiss.

Aubrey's eyes fell to where Chloe's hand rested on her upper thigh, but made no move to push it away. "So… Does this mean we're… Dating?" She asked nervously.

"It does, and I love my beautiful girlfriend," Chloe hummed, her hand inching up higher as she slowly pulled Aubrey in for a second kiss, this one more needy than the first.

"Chloe, wait," Aubrey placed her hand over the redhead's, which had just about made it up her leg. "I… I don't know if I can do this."

"Do… What?" Chloe questioned fearful that Aubrey was already having second thoughts about the relationship.

"The sex," the blonde muttered.

"That's okay, we don't have to. You know I wouldn't push you into doing something you didn't want to do," Chloe smiled at her now-girlfriend warmly, thoroughly relieved to hear it was simply hesitance on the sex and not the relationship itself. While Chloe hadn't told the blonde, she'd been terrified when she'd made her confession about loving Aubrey; she was afraid she'd be shot down on the spot, that the blonde would turn her back and walk away, only just barely giving her the time of day during The Bellas' rehearsals.

Somehow Chloe always knew the right things to say that made Aubrey feel more at ease. She pressed her lips to the redhead's yet again, but this time didn't pull away, instead tuning the single kiss into a chain of what began as timid, light kisses, that had now turned fervent. Aubrey's tongue swept the length of Chloe's bottom lip before she bit down on it gently, causing the redhead's lips to part, allowing Aubrey's tongue to slip inside as it curled around Chloe's, the two wrestling for dominance.

Aubrey didn't know where this sudden burst of desire came from or how she knew what to do. Although truth be told, she didn't know what she was doing at all, instead going with the flow and letting her body act on its own in what came more naturally to her without thinking too much about it.

"I thought you just said-" Chloe broke away to look at her girlfriend.

"Forget what I said, Chloe. I… I want you now," Aubrey felt the heat rise in her cheeks as a deep blush crossed her face.

That was all Chloe needed to hear as she gently pushed Aubrey onto her back, straddling the woman's waist, Aubrey's hands went instinctively to rest upon the redhead's hips before her fingers hooked into the hem of her jeans. After a few seconds of fumbling, the Aubrey finally managed to undo Chloe's pants. Chloe, in turn, got up briefly, only to shimmy out of her pants before crawling back onto of the blonde. She leaned over planting hot kisses along the subtle angle of Aubrey's jawline before slowly kissing her way down the slender column of the blonde's neck, adding in small bites better kisses until she reached the other woman's collarbone before pausing.

"Why would stop there?" Aubrey hissed, having relished in the feeling of Chloe's mouth pressed against her skin.

"Because if I'm the only one stripping down it makes this less fun for both of us," the redhead whispered, pressing hot lips to Aubrey's ear as her tongue traveled along the slope of the outer shell before her teeth clamped down firmly onto the lobe, giving it a gentle tug, earning herself a pleasured groan from the other woman before she pulled away again, sitting up as she looked down at her girlfriend with her piercing sky blue eyes.

Aubrey felt the blush return to her face (or maybe it never completely left) as the heat rushed back to her cheeks. However she did have to agree with Chloe and her clothes were starting to feel too tight for her anyway. Peeling off the fabric that had acted as a barrier between her own skin and the redhead's, the lead Bella sat up and brought their lips together as she slowly pulled Chloe back down on top of her.

Chloe's hands slid down Aubrey's neck as they exchanged sultry kisses. The blonde gave way to a small whimper as she felt the other woman's hands glide down her sides before turning around to come up and reach her breasts, earning Chloe a sharp gasp from Aubrey as she kneaded them, pinching and twisting the erect nipples in her fingers. Moving one hand from Aubrey's breast, the redhead let it skim down her taut stomach and hooked into the hem of her pants. She fumbled slightly, undoing the blonde's pants before slipping her hand in, teasing the wet folds. Aubrey let out a languid hiss from her clenched jaw, her back arching, pressing her body against Chloe's.

"Please, Chloe…" Aubrey pleaded, needing the redhead inside her.

"Please what?" She grinned wickedly at her girlfriend.

"I… I need you," the blonde murmured.

That was all Chloe needed to hear as she slid two fingers inside, her thumb rubbing petite circles against Aubrey's clit, relishing in the feeling of her girlfriend tightening around her. The blonde let out an ardent moan as Chloe began to pick up her pace, thrusting her fingers deeper into Aubrey.

"God, Chloe!" Aubrey yelped as she could feel her orgasm already approaching as the redhead's hand continued to worked quickly. Her breathing had become erratic, exhaling in short bursts as the palm of her hands pressed against the smooth curve of Chloe's back.

Within minutes, the blonde felt the orgasm tear through her body, as she let out an audible moan, laced with Chloe's name. The redhead, thoroughly pleased by Aubrey's reaction retracted her fingers from where they had been in the other woman's pants and licked them clean as Aubrey watched, enthralled.

"Chloe…?" The blonde muttered quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I… I love you," a warm smiled crept across Aubrey's face.

"I love you too, Aubrey," Chloe beamed, giving Aubrey a kiss, "And I'll never leave you."


End file.
